BOOM!
A deafening roar erupted as the aftershock of the blast shattered the Taixuan Sacrifice Array!
Yang Chan immediately strode upon the wind, making a swift escape.
The moment he sensed danger, he had used the Shift Form and Position Secret Technique to swap places with the Profound Yin Hanging Bead and its Soul Body, letting it take the blow for him. The Soul Body then quickly merged back into his own as he fled his original position.
Even so, Yang Chan was caught in the blast. Bloody gashes appeared all over his body, turning him into a figure of blood.
Yang Chan drew a sharp breath.
After stabilizing himself, he saw a massive crater where the Grand Array had been. He wasn’t worried about his injuries; his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill and other Health Cultivation Techniques were already circulating, rapidly healing his body.
They were only superficial wounds and wouldn’t affect him.
He hadn’t been wounded by that murderous intent. Otherwise, his condition would have been far more severe.
After the void rift vanished, Yang Chan approached the crater.
The Black Dragon had told him that the cost of crossing realms was immense. The small passage they had opened didn’t last long, but the materials required to create it were substantial.
For a powerful entity from the Taixuan Realm to come to the Taiyu Divine Continent, the price was even greater. Furthermore, since the Taiyu Divine Continent no longer had any Divine Veins, it wouldn’t attract the attention of such beings, making it relatively safe.
Yang Chan drew near now to check on the Profound Yin Hanging Bead and to collect the dispersing Taiyuan Qi.
Because the being too terrifying to look at had attacked, the Taixuan Sacrifice Array had been destroyed, causing the Taiyuan Qi to begin scattering. If it all dissipated, it would be a tremendous loss.
If he needed more Taiyuan Qi, he would have to set up the Taixuan Sacrifice Array again and possibly face the same danger. It was only natural to collect as much as he could now.
Although that entity had put him in a perilous situation, it had also brought more Taiyuan Qi to the Taiyu Divine Continent. Some of this Taiyuan Qi had a dazzling color, a sign of extremely high condensation.
According to the Black Dragon, high-quality Taiyuan Qi was not far from liquefying. Using such high-quality Taiyuan Qi to forge his Taiyuan Sword would naturally bring great benefits.
Yang Chan reached the edge of the crater. With a thought, a faint light glowed from the bottom of the pit. The Profound Yin Hanging Bead floated up and hovered beside him.
After a careful inspection, he found fine cracks on a few of the mala beads within the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, but the main bead was unaffected.
Even a Treasure like the Profound Yin Hanging Bead had been damaged by that last strike.
The power of that being, too terrifying to look at, was far greater than he had anticipated.
’It’s a good thing I used the Shift Form and Position Secret Technique just now, or I’d be dead. A being like that is too powerful. I’m no match for it at all right now.’
’But I’ll remember you. When I’m strong enough, I’ll crush you like a bug.’
’Then you’ll know what it feels like to be powerless.’
After his inspection, Yang Chan sensed that the Black Dragon Soul Body inside the Profound Yin Hanging Bead was still alive, but it had fallen into a deep slumber. Its aura was much weaker. Clearly, the Black Dragon had also paid a heavy price for that last attack.
However, since the Profound Yin Hanging Bead wasn’t destroyed, the Black Dragon, as its Artifact Spirit, still existed.
This Treasure left behind by the Profound Celestial Divine Monarch to imprison the Black Dragon was truly extraordinary.
Without overthinking it, Yang Chan focused his mind and began collecting the Taiyuan Qi that had not yet dispersed, especially the most dazzlingly colored wisps. These were his primary targets.
According to the Black Dragon, a single wisp of dazzlingly colored Taiyuan Qi was worth dozens of ordinary wisps. The difference was immense.
Yang Chan strode upon the wind, but stopped after a short while.
The Taiyuan Qi that had scattered earlier was impossible to chase down. It had already vanished into the world, its location unknown.
He had already collected everything he could get his hands on. At the same time, he dismantled and stored both the Taixuan Sacrifice Array and the Concealing Breath Array. He even scooped up the soil and plants where his blood had fallen and put them all into the Profound Yin Hanging Bead.
The incident with the Taiyin Saintess had made it very clear to Yang Chan that certain special techniques could still detect his presence and even pinpoint his location. Therefore, he had to take everything that carried his aura and store it all in the Profound Yin Hanging Bead, leaving nothing behind.
It would be very troublesome if someone managed to track him.
The commotion from that being’s attack was far greater than Yang Chan had expected. He feared many experts would be drawn to the area. So, after cleaning up, he concealed his breath and left immediately.
Not long after Yang Chan left, several experts from Yu State arrived in a group.
They fell silent as they stared at the massive, deep crater before them.
"Did a Martial Saint come to Yu State? A Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster couldn’t have caused a commotion this huge!" a blue-robed old man said, his brow deeply furrowed.
"Emperor Yang Yu of the Great Zhou Imperial Family is still in White Jade City, busy with the funeral of Grand Ancestor Emperor Yang Sheng. It couldn’t have been him!" a tall, black-robed man said, mentioning the Emperor of Great Zhou, who was a newly ascended Martial Saint.
"The Jin Meng Empire’s new Martial Saint, Ouyang Qingtian, has no time to come here either. He’s still preparing to breach the Jin Meng Empire’s Imperial Capital. It’s unlikely he would come into the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty," a slender, green-robed middle-aged man added, ruling out another possibility.
"Could it be a Martial Saint from a Holy Land? Or an expert like Ouyang Qingtian—someone who could defeat a Martial Saint while still a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster!" the blue-robed old man who had spoken first exclaimed.
"No matter who it was, they are not someone we can afford to provoke!"
"Our most urgent task right now is to join forces and destroy the Xuanqing Palace. Only then will Yu State be under our control."
"As for this expert, they were probably just passing through!"
The black-robed man cut to the heart of the matter. No matter how much they investigated, they would be no match for the person who did this. The deep crater was proof enough.
Even if they joined forces, they probably couldn’t survive a single move. If that unknown expert wanted to deal with them, the combined group wouldn’t last a single exchange.
The gap in power was too vast.
"True. Rather than worrying about this, we’d be better off dealing with the Xuanqing Palace!"
"Someone that powerful probably wouldn’t even pay attention to the likes of us!" the green-robed middle-aged man sighed.
During the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s recent military conscription, their Sects had all been forced to send people, and they had all suffered considerable losses.
Back then, the Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou had acted personally, and they could only submit. That was the meaning of absolute power.
"Let’s search the area and see if anything valuable was left behind. If there’s nothing, we’ll leave," said the blue-robed man who had spoken first. This was the real reason they were all still here.
Regardless of why the unknown expert had made a move, they had left traces of a battle here. It was possible someone had been killed by that expert, which meant some Treasures might have been left behind.
Items that such an expert wouldn’t care about could be a great opportunity for them.
The group got busy. After searching the area several times and finding nothing, they left together.
They were the first to arrive, but they weren’t the last.
As the sky gradually brightened, several more groups had already investigated the area.
This was even more true after daybreak.
At first, it was forces from the nearby Yu State, followed by forces from Qing State, and later, even people from the Court arrived.
The main reason was that the traces of battle were too significant. An ordinary Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster couldn’t create such devastation, leading many to speculate that a Martial Saint had taken action.
They just didn’t know why this Martial Saint would make a move within Yu State’s borders. For the Imperial Family, this was a presence that could not be ignored.
The Combat Power of a National Guardian Martial Saint was too immense. If such a being remained within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty and made a move, the entire Imperial Dynasty could be destroyed.
Although under normal circumstances, a Martial Saint would be wary of an Imperial Dynasty’s national destiny and wouldn’t act so recklessly, there was no guarantee such beings didn’t exist. Dragon Slayers, for example, were individuals born with the destiny to slay an Imperial Dynasty’s national destiny.
One Dragon Slayer had already appeared; it wouldn’t be strange for another to emerge.
A stream of reports left Yu State and spread throughout the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty. Everyone treated the matter with extreme importance.
This was especially true for those who knew about the border battlefield of the National Guardian Martial Saints, who took it even more seriously.
The border between the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty and the Jin Meng Empire had been completely destroyed in the clash between the National Guardian Martial Saints and was still being rebuilt.
The casualties had been horrific.
And that was with the battlefield confined to the border region. If it had moved into the territories of the two nations, the situation would have been even worse.
Far away in White Jade City, the Old Emperor Yang Yu, still busy with the funeral of Grand Ancestor Emperor Yang Sheng, immediately dispatched people to Yu State to continue the investigation. He also arranged for many men to be stationed along the roads to White Jade City to investigate any unfamiliar faces.
He was trying to prevent a new Dragon Slayer from appearing within Great Zhou’s territory. After witnessing the clash between a Dragon Slayer and the Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou, Yang Sheng, he had become even more wary of such figures.
Their Combat Power was too immense. According to the Grand Ancestor’s dying instructions, he was not to fight these Dragon Slayers to the death for the next few years, but to stall them instead.
Once the Heaven’s Mandate on the Dragon Slayers disappeared, they would return to normal. While their Combat Power would still be strong, it would be very difficult for them to kill him then.
A National Guardian Martial Saint without the blessing of Heaven’s Mandate would still fear the backlash from the national destiny.
Therefore, Yang Yu planned to remain in White Jade City for the time being and not go out. For his usual court audiences, he had chosen a new Prince to take his place.
The final commands were, of course, delivered to him. The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was still under his control.
Of course, the official story was that he was in seclusion to consolidate his Cultivation. Only he knew the real situation.
’Dragon Slayer Ouyang Qingtian, I hope it wasn’t you.’
Within the Imperial City of White Jade City, the Old Emperor Yang Yu now rarely appeared in public, having begun to conceal his location.
According to the Grand Ancestor, as long as he did not die and the Destiny Golden Dragon was not extinguished, the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty’s reign could continue. Extending it for another few hundred years would not be a problem at all.
The Old Emperor Yang Yu was very obedient to the Grand Ancestor’s words and was acting accordingly.
He had personally witnessed Ouyang Qingtian’s Combat Power. Even after his own ascension to National Guardian Martial Saint, he had no confidence he could have dealt with Ouyang Qingtian’s power from before his breakthrough, let alone now that the man had also become a National Guardian Martial Saint and was surely even stronger.
Blessed by Heaven’s Mandate, he was even more difficult to deal with.